OIC Expresses "Shock and Dismay" over Prophet Cartoons

OIC Expresses "Shock and Dismay" over Prophet Cartoons

The 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has warned that cartoons denigrating Prophet Muhammad published in a French satirical magazine could trigger a new wave of anti-Western violence, but urged Muslims all over the world to show restraint.

In a statement in Jeddah on September 21, OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu expressed "shock and dismay" over the caricatures and warned they would "further exacerbate the ongoing turmoil and violence" created by the release of the anti-Islam film "Innocence of Muslims."

Angry protests linked to the movie has left tens of people dead since last week, with much of the violence targeting the United States where the film was produced.

The French government fears that the focus could now shift to its overseas missions and cultural centers following the publications of the cartoons in the French weekly 'Charlie Hebdo.'

"The French weekly should pay heed to the concerns of the international community on incitement and intolerance of religious beliefs," he said.

"It was time the international community took serious note of the dangerous implications of hate speech and inciting publications and come out of hiding behind the excuse of freedom of expression," Ihsanoglu was quoted as saying in the Arab media.

The film and the cartoons constituted a "deliberate, motivated and systematic abuse" of freedom of speech and "posed a clear danger to peace, security and stability in the region as well as the global context." He said and called on Muslims worldwide "to exercise restraint in testing times."

Embassies, consulates, cultural centers and international French schools in around 20 Muslim countries remained closed on Friday.

Muslim World League Secretary General Abdullah al-Turki urged governments and international organizations to take legal action against blasphemous actions.

Latest

Journal Archive

Among Islamic scientists and philosophers, the late martyr Ayatollah Motahhari, calls revolution, "the rebellion or uprising of a region or country against the prevailing rule and rulers in order to ...

In 1978 and while Islamic movement of Iranian people led by Imam Khomeini had reached its culmination, the Shah’s regime, disappointed at compromising with Imam Khomeini, tried some political measures to limit his activities or deport him from Iraq....

The Islamic Revolution of Iran was an exceptional, unique phenomenon of the twentieth century. The inherent features and its specific messages as well as its sphere of influence turned the Islamic Revolution into a bright, firm revolution that became the focus of attention of the ...

The present article is an excerpt from a full book written by George Jordac on Imam
Ali entitled “The Voice of Human Justice”. Hence, it is limited to only some of Imam Ali’s qualities, for it is not possible to enumerate all of them in this brief article.

Amongst shallow, sensationalist coverage of the British media, we are still missing the most important information. What is the demography of the riots? Who is leading it? Does it have any leaders? Is there an ideology behind it all? Why do they loot, what do they loot, and from whom do they loot? And most importantly, what is the meaning of it all?